Communication networks are well known in the computer communications field. By definition, a network is a group of computers and associated devices that are connected by communications facilities or links. Network communications can be of a permanent nature, such as via cables, or can be of a temporary nature, such as connections made through telephone or wireless links. Networks may vary in size, from a local area network (“LAN”), consisting of a few computers or workstations and related devices, to a wide area network (“WAN”), which interconnects computers and LANs that are geographically dispersed, to a remote access service, which interconnects remote computers via temporary communication links. An internetwork, in turn, is the joining of multiple computer networks, both similar and dissimilar, by means of gateways or routers that facilitate data transfer and conversion from various networks. A well-known abbreviation for the term internetwork is “internet.” As currently understood, the capitalized term “Internet” refers to the collection of networks and routers that use the Internet Protocol (“IP”), along with higher-level protocols, such as the Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”) or the Uniform Datagram Packet (“UDP”) protocol, to communicate with one another.
Likewise, projects, including projects using electronic information are well known. It could be argued that many projects, ideas, plans, communities, teams, organizations, processes and methodologies originate with a single person having a single thought—an idea, query or concern that may initially be expressed in vague terms and which may remain a private thought for some time.
Over time, this idea, query or concern could develop and take shape: it might be shared with other people; it could generate new ideas, concerns and issues; it could generate content, actions, activities, and tasks; it might be researched and formalized; it could be associated, formally or informally, with other projects, activities, initiatives, people and content; and eventually, depending upon the scope and nature of the idea and the economic, commercial, social or political environment in which the idea might develop and evolve, the original private, fuzzy idea could develop into a larger, better organized, more fully resourced, and more formally managed project.
On the other hand, the idea might remain a small, so-called “below-the-radar” effort that just concerns 1-2 people. Some ideas might cross organizational, geographic and network boundaries; others might remain local, or even private.
As people work to develop, enhance and modify their ideas, they might have access to a variety of traditional tools and technologies for idea management, content management, project management and collaboration. However, some users may find limitations with these technologies as their needs evolve. For example, each of the following technologies have undesirable limitations in their handling of ideas.
Electronic mail (“e-mail”): e-mail may be used to share ideas between people, especially those who are separated by geography and time. Despite its apparent low cost and general ubiquity, e-mail may be ineffective in managing decision-making regarding a large set of complex, often interdependent ideas, actions and content.
In the early stages of an idea's development, much of the communication may be one-to-one or one-to-few with respect to the number of people involved. As the effort expands in scope, the communication may expand to a many-to-many degree of complexity. In such circumstances, e-mail may act as a hindrance to effective decision making because of its asynchronous nature. For example, if people were to use the “Reply to All” feature that is common in e-mail clients with little discrimination, this might lead to a flood of ill-timed, unnecessary or unwanted commentary. Moreover, once users become part of an e-mail distribution list, they may find it difficult to exit the conversational loop.
Shared folders: whether implemented on LANs, WANs, virtual private networks (“VPNs”), personal area networks (“PANs”), Intranets, Extranets or the Internet, shared folders may be ineffective when the underlying information is not well structured or organized. Shared folders are often based upon an underlying hierarchical structure, and when the information being developed and shared about an idea, activity or project is not easily organized into a hierarchical structure, shared folders may not be an effective solution. It may also prove difficult with shared folders, depending upon the particular implementation within a computer or electronic device, to easily gather within a single folder all the digital content (files, databases, e-mails, bookmarks, etc.) that pertains to a particular idea, activity or project.
Project management tools: project management tools are often designed for a command-and-control environment characterized by written project definitions, defined roles for team members, and defined activities and tasks. However, users may find that the ideas they are working with are subject to frequent changes and their relatively loose structures. Such ideas may not be easily amenable to classic project management methodologies. When ideas, resources, strategies, tactics and priorities are fluid or subject to unexpected or frequent changes, project management tools may be more of a burden than an aid if the tools require frequent updates and adjustments of their views of the idea or project.
Groupware: groupware solutions are based upon the same hierarchical approach to organizing information as shared folders. Consequently, groupware may present the same disadvantages when dealing with ideas, activities and/or content that are not easily organized into a hierarchical structure.
Instant messaging: instant messaging (“IM”), voice-over-IP (“VoIP”) and similar chat software may handle the exchange of relatively simple content items, such as files, within very small groups. However, they may not be equipped to handle the sharing of project context—the overall plan or strategy within which the content is most useful. Such technologies may also not always be adept at managing different access permissions for different members of a project team, where it may be desirable to control, at a granular level, who gets access to which information, as well as who has the ability to make changes to particular ideas, content or activities.
Consequently, people may find they lack a suitable method or system with which they could flexibly, effectively and/or efficiently manage the creation, sharing and management of ideas, from early incarnations as private thoughts, to more extensive ideas used in projects.